Enigmic Irony
by SoloWing
Summary: The others should be thanking me for killing you... Come to think of it, they probably will. One-shot


_**Begin**_

_You'll never know how much I've hated you._

_How could you? You can't feel anything. You're no better than those blasted Morphs we've been fighting since the moment we set foot on this cursed place._

_Even back before I knew your name, who you were. You took the only person I've ever been able to love, killed her without remorse... then, as if that wasn't enough, you had to go and defile her memory by leaving her, tied upright to a tree, for us to find. The moment I felt her cold hand and saw her empty eyes I began to hate you, and I knew that I would kill you should our paths ever meet._

_I worked furiously to find out who had killed her. When Lord Hector wasn't looking I would interrogate half-dead Fang members, I was continually trying to worm information from Lord Eliwood, and when Lady Lyn was preoccupied I'd swipe notes and journal entries from our tactician, all just to find out your identity- to find out the name of Leila's murderer._

The scream of metal filled the air as two blades connected. One sword was the model of controlled efficiency while the other was the example of spiteful fury.

Sparks flew through the air as metal met metal in a deadly embrace.

_Finally, after constant work, I discovered just who had robbed Leila of her life. One of the Black Fang I terrorized admitted that he had been on the Dread Isle when you killed my love. He explained it all, how Leila and Ephidal had met in a room. A short while later there was a scream, the mention of your name... and then he was called upon to clean the bloodstains._

_I had a name. At long last I had a name. Now all I needed was a face, then a location, then a meeting._

_Revenge would be served._

The two participants became robed blurs as they dodged and attacked the other; a deadly dance was formed that only one would walk away from.

_But then- I still rue that day- we went to rescue Zephiel from the demise ordered by his father. Imagine my surprise and delight to discover that you were the one doing the deed. Finally, finally, I would have my revenge. Leila's death would be repayed, and I'd finally be able to mourn for her... I'd finally be able to be at peace..._

_And even better, you were about to assassinate the Prince of Bern! You! I was going to save him. It was certain that fortune had smiled on me; not only could I take you down, but I could become a hero in the process!_

_Then..._

_The unthinkable happened._

One assassin sidestepped, avoiding a fatal thrust to the stomach. He countered by moving to decapitate his opponent. He missed.

_YOU JOINED US!  
__  
YOU!_

_Imagine my shock, my disgust, my horror when Master Eliwood and Lady Lyndis accepted you and that girl into our company. To know that the same uncaring, unthinking fiend who stole Leila from me was now fighting by my side, it sickened me. The weight of knowing that you were there, day after day after day after blasted day, keeping your silent, little vigil over Nino crushed me. I saw you every morn and evening, at every meal and every meeting, you were right there in the palm of my hand and I couldn't touch you._

_Master Eliwood, Lord Hector and that crazy tactician, Heather, pulled me aside and tried to talk to me, to help. Deceiving them so that they never suspected my true intentions was the act of a lifetime. I knew what they would do if I were to reveal my true motives; and I couldn't let them separate us._

The two swords locked, binding the warriors together and forcing them to look upon the other. Hate-filled eyes drilled into icy calculating orbs.

_So we fought, so we battled. You saved my life and I saved yours- strictly so that I could be the one to bring you down. The war dragged on and I was forced to continue to fight and serve alongside you. All the while I was studying your every move, examining your style, looking for any flaws that I could exploit._

_  
I worked to imitate your fighting abilities, and it payed off. The day Lord Hector presented me with a Fell Contract and the day I became an Assassin was the day I came that much closer to destroying you._

_Eventually, it all began to come to an end. Nergal was finally ready to open the Dragon's Gate, we rushed to meet him head on. We fought and carved our way across this wretched island, past those unthinking Morphs and through those unfeeling hordes. We battled our way into the heart of Nergal's stronghold and through the revived Black Fang..._

_  
What, if anything, was going through your mind when we took apart your former companions? Does the fact that you killed the resurrected Brandon Reed and Linus weigh on you? You didn't even hesitate as you struck and ended their lives, your face betrayed nothing. Can you feel anything? Or are you the heartless monster I had always assumed you to be?_

_The others should be thanking me for killing you... Come to think of it, they probably will._

The two assassins continued their whirlwind assault on each other. The fight drifted back down the cavern towards the entrance. Those present parted down the center to avoid the conflict. The audience to this duel looked on in hopelessness.

_Then the universe grew tired of laughing at my predicament, and turned things in my favor. Nergal revealed himself along with two magicians. One of them cut loose with a Berserk spell- and guess who was the unlucky target?_

_  
You, the Angel of Death._

_I'll never know how someone with your speed could have been hit by such a slow-moving spell. You'd think the twisted beams of red light would have attracted your attention... but no. You were hit with all the force of the spell and promptly went wild._

_Even now your strikes are filled with anger and hatred. They're too wide, too uncalculated. They're nothing like your usual efficiency at all._

A rush of movement drew the angered assassin's eye. Forgetting his current duel, the enraged Angel of Death spun and charged at Serra, who was trying to approach with a Restore Staff. His attack was halted as Matthew calmly appeared before the murderer and reengaged him in combat.

_The scream you unleashed when you went Berserk will probably follow us to our graves. So few of us have ever heard your voice- and when it was released it was soul-shattering in its agony. The torture you expressed in that one instant is nothing compared to what I would gladly do to you._

_You turned on the first person you saw, Lady Lyndis, and attacked. No one in this camp, save myself, could come close to matching your speed. I intervened before you killed her, and we've been battling since.  
__  
You've been protected by Lord Eliwood and Lady Lyndis for so long and kept just outside of my reach, but now you're a threat to everyone. You'll attack anything that moves. You're a liability. I could kill you now. I could cut you down where you stand. No one can blame me for it. I'm defending myself, I'm defending the company, I'm removing a threat- you._

_Oh, they won't like it, but they won't be able to make anything of it. It'll be entirely justified._

_How's that for irony? Farina always said that someone in the universe was conspiring against us, putting us into different situations for their amusement. I'm starting to wonder if she isn't right._

_Even now, I can see their expressions and feelings regarding this fight. Kent's over there looking angry and confused, I can see him berating himself for not moving quickly enough to protect his liege from your first onslaught; he isn't even focusing on the finer points of this battle. Lyn's looking torn and indecisive, as if she doesn't know what to think of all this. Master Eliwood's shouting and talking and trying to cut through the Berserk fog with words; I almost hope that he doesn't succeed. Lord Hector is looking quite angry and more than a little upset. I can see it in his eyes: you've lost what little trust had been gained from him._

_Then there's myself..._

_If I'm ever going to avenge Leila, if I'm ever to find the peace that I'm looking for, then I have to kill you now while you're in a Berserk state. I wouldn't stand a chance against you on an even, one-on-one duel, but while you're swinging those blades about like the homicidal maniac that you are I am more than a match for you. Even now, I see at least three different openings that could be used to put my dagger through your nonexistent heart..._

_You've finally been delivered into my hand; I have the opportunity to extract revenge... But here's the biggest twist of irony, something that just about proves Farina's notions. I have the opportunity to kill you in a means that's totally justified, no one can condemn me for killing you- comrade or no._

_I can't go through with it._

_I can't kill you no matter how much I want to... all because of Nino._

_I saw it all when we passed her by. I saw everything: the confusion, the hurt, the fear... and the love. The moment that I saw the horror on her face, the fear in her twisting lips, and the pained love in her eyes, I knew I could never kill you._

_You're unfeeling, uncaring, you couldn't respond to her affections even if you had the ability to understand them. But its plain to see that Nino adores you. She's had her old life stripped away and everything that she thought she knew turned inside out. Her family's been killed and stolen from her, just like you took Leila from me._

_If I killed you here, then Nino would be left alone. She would be as awash with despair as I have been; pain and sorrow would consume her soul. If I killed you, then I would be robbing Nino of... her happiness... her future... It would leave her an orphan. I know what that's like, I would never wish it on anyone else._

_Leila always did want to have a girl of her own... I guess that's part of what's keeping me back. If Leila had lived then maybe... under a different set of circumstances... No, now isn't the time..._

The twin assassins continued to trade attacks and defenses- although the Berserker-induced Angel of Death was beginning to tire and slow. Clearly, the spell was wearing off.

_One person, one variable, can change the course of destiny. And Nino's presence has done that for you. If she hadn't been present, I might have finished you off by now. If I killed you, then you would be her Leila and I would be her Angel of Death. Our roles would have reversed. Irony. I hate it._

_So there you have it... I want nothing more to cut you down where you stand, but I can't._

_I can't rob Nino of her happiness; I can't subject her to the torment I've gone through. I even have my doubts that Leila would want me to kill you for destroying her... I can see it now in your fighting style and your actions, now that I'm not quite as blinded by hate. You're a different man now than you were back then... if you were a man at all back then. All of a sudden, I can see clearly._

_Lord Eliwood once told me that you had been conditioned and trained from your childhood to be an unthinking, unfeeling extension of Nergal's will. Looking at you now, I see the truth to those stories. I see the confusion and bewilderment deep in your eyes. I can see the hurt and fear that plagues you._

_I can see how Nino eases that burden you bear, and in return how you protect her._

_You aren't some emotionless monster who slays for pleasure. You aren't the horrible creature I saw in my dreams. You're just a sad and tortured soul like the rest of us; you're hurting and you're scared and you have no idea what to do with those emotions. The difference between us is that you just will never know the solace of being able to release that pain like we can. You're even worse off than we are._

_You're not something to be feared, you're something to be pitied._

_So... I take pity on you. I will let you live, Jaffar._

_Don't misunderstand, I'll doubt that I'll ever want to play cards with you (assuming that you do that sort of thing), or share a round at an inn, or invite you to Castle Ostia... I don't know if I'll ever be able to even fully forgive you. But I won't look for revenge. I won't caution the others against you anymore._

_I'll let you live, for Nino... and Leila's... sake._

_Enjoy your freedom._

A Killing Edge clattered to the ground.

The last effects of the Berserk Spell faded away, leaving a confused Jaffar behind. The wiry Angel of Death blinked twice as he became aware of his surroundings. He looked around in bewilderment, at his sword lying on the ground, to his hands... and finally to Matthew.

The events of the past few minutes revealed themselves to the assassin. Questions began filling the man's eyes. Matthew had hated him, vowed to kill him, why then had he been allowed to live?

The Enigmatic Thief offered his counterpart a wily half-smile. He then spun his twin daggers between his fingers and dropped them into their respective sheathes.

Without a word, Matthew turned and walked away. He had no need to explain his actions... somewhere during that last fight, he had come to terms with their situations and histories. And maybe, just maybe, given the sudden lightness in his heart, the thief had found the peace he was looking for. Not in revenge... but in forgiveness.

Somewhere, he was sure, Leila was smiling.

**_End_**

A.N.: I actually came up with this idea as I played the final chapter of FE. Jaffar was indeed Berserked and he targetted Matthew, through some bizarre RNG mix-up, Jaffar missed and then Matthew criticalled him.

Ironic, huh?


End file.
